With a flurry of games sitting on the horizon, it’s important for titles that have already come to get what value they can into their mixes before your money faces heavier contention. Destiny, EVOLVE, Minecraft, Sunset Overdrive, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Forza Horizon 2, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Project Spark, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, The Crew, The Evil Within, Far Cry 4… we didn’t have to list every one of those games but we wanted to really drive home the message that there’s a wealth of gamer product coming our way. This leads us back to our original point: DLC.
Titanfall’s next expansion has been announced and is titled “Frontier’s Edge”. The DLC will bring forth three additional maps and could bring some additional tweaks and improvements to the game with it. There is no release date officially set for the maps, but Respawn Entertainment have pinned a “summer” launch. This could mean that September would be the launch window, but we anticipate something sooner since the first set of DLC released over a month ago. Also, waiting until the end of September would force Respawn into competing for dollars with gamers which will only hurt them since DLC is expansive and a new game is an entirely new experience (we think Destiny is going to be that big of a launch and will take much of your time if you choose to experience it). Our money is on mid August, but don’t expect much lead time on the DLC release date. The first maps out were announced several weeks in advance but the date wasn’t confirmed until just days before.
At E3, Respawn Entertainment showed us a glimpse of their upcoming patch to Titanfall that would address a few bugs but also add in some cool extras and a new gametype. “Marked For Death” has been added as a specialty game type that will likely rotate with other specialty game modes, like “Wingman Last Titan Standing” (2v2 LTS). There’s now an expanded Burn Card storage, decals for your titan, new achievements and more. Check out Respawn’s official patch notes below!
The big news around the gaming world at the moment seems to be that TitanFall 2 may have already been locked up by EA and will be a multiplatform title. While that isn’t the most outrageous thing to hit the interwebs, the fact is that this is all rumor with zero confirmation from anyone on the issue. Both Respawn Entertainment and EA have yet to make any indication that a TitanFall 2 is being hashed out in any way/shape/form, meaning a lot of journalists owning PlayStation 3/4 consoles are running with hopes and dreams that this epic shooter will be available on their platform in the future. The reports are so outrageous that even Respawn Entertainment have loosely commented on the reports and simply retained their commitment to their current product and that they have no plans for a TitanFall 2 at the moment.
Any sequel, whether it happens or not, wouldn’t be here for roughly 3 years if Respawn Entertainment haven’t truly begun work on a successor. This would make a lot of sense for a studio that is still relatively new and doesn’t have the manpower to juggle multiple titles at once, especially when their first game launch ever is one that is still incomplete (according to the devs). No matter what console(s) you own, look at TitanFall now and not the future as EA has likely not inked any deals with Respawn over a TitanFall successor at this time and Microsoft could easily make an offer to publish the next title should the money and opportunities be right. Microsoft would be smart to put a bid down to lock this up in some form to keep incentives toward their Xbox One platform which has started to see surges in sales in February and March which could net them some makeup ground against rival Sony.
Then again, perhaps by the time Titanfall 2 could come around the Xbox One will have caught up and surpassed the PS4 like many analysts predicted prior to the consoles launching, leaving the need to have Titanfall exclusive as an afterthought. Respawn Entertainment will have their hands full if this comes to pass, since Titanfall launched well but does suffer for a few hiccups simply because the game isn’t entirely finished. We’ve reported about EA being way too gung-ho about pushing games out the door before they’re done, but imagine adding 2-3 new consoles (Nintendo, PlayStation) to the mix to work with and test. It could be a challenge to get a 2nd Titanfall out the door in the next three years and we now know that EA isn’t afraid to birth a baby premature.
TitanFall aims to reshape the FPS genre in a way that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare did on previous generation consoles & PC. To that end, Respawn Entertainment has melded a campaign-like story into a 6-on-6 multiplayer experience to try and shake up the typical feel of a competitive match. This is accomplished by AI characters giving background to battles before and after they have done (usually during, too), which makes the experience seem less shallow and a bit more immersive. However this entire “campaign” is exactly the same experience that you’ll face should you decide to run for what Respawn calls “Classic Mode”, which features the various gametypes for simply competitive matches without all the backstory being filled in. For the story side, it’s kind of cool – a sci-fi future where rival factions are warring against each other over differences in humanity’s direction and who controls it away from Earth. The only problem with this is that the story is nearly lost when you’re playing the campaign mode. This is largely due to TitanFall being so action-packed that it nearly drowns out everything going on. For those that care, you’ll likely want to avoid playing campaign mode with friends so you can determine what’s happening with the characters and worlds you encounter. Otherwise, there’s just too much noise to focus. But in a way it’s the thought that counts, and the campaign mode makes for some interesting play – especially when it’s mandatory to unlock other classes of titans within the game. Lastly, you will play as both factions to observe the story from different angles – something that is a bit rare and adds a bit of interest to a game that makes no mystery over its focus on multiplayer.
As for the multiplayer, it’s honed. You will be hard pressed to find a more approachable yet robust online experience anywhere. Call of Duty thrived in the FPS world for years, but its reign may have just ended with the first iteration of TitanFall. It’s because everything is so purposeful, whether that be the weapon balancing, player-to-titan balancing, titan options, loadout customizations, burn cards (similar to killstreaks in CoD). It’s as if Respawn Entertainment slaved over the appropriate tone, pacing and intention of the game so that any player can pick it up and play it to at least modest success. In Call of Duty, you can carry a team on your back as a lone wolf and rampage over an enemy team simply by being so much better. TitanFall does carry a vague feeling of lone wolf rewards, but it certainly lends itself better to team play, especially when the titans start dropping. There’s too much going on and it’s too easy to get flanked or assassinated from behind by enemies should you make the mistake of staying in one spot too long. This makes the game constantly progress in its movement, and playing with friends heavily beneficial as you may not be the best in the business yet simply communicating and making some attempt at strategy would likely reward you with wins.
Since the game is basically multiplayer-only, the only lingering question is whether or not TitanFall can go the distance and remain relevant and loved six months from now or whether it will be more short-term in its effectiveness. Players out the gate are praising it heavily, and rightfully so. Yet it’s hard to shake the feeling that the substance could potentially thin out for fans that invest heavily into the game in its first month or two out. To combat this, TitanFall includes 15 multiplayer maps at launch and a small handful of traditional gametypes. There’s your Attrition (deathmatch-themed), Hardpoint (domination/territories), Capture the Flag, Last Titan Standing (round based with titans @ start, no respawns), Pilot Hunter (only pilot kills count toward team score, team deathmatch-style), and variety pack (random gametype selection). Just like Call of Duty, you’ll have a level system that opens up weapons and abilities to help give you a leg up in certain situations as you progress. The cap is 50, and there is a “prestige” option called “regeneration” which makes you a second-gen, third-gen, etc. pilot until you hit the cap of tenth generation pilot. As you open up these new generations of pilots, you’ll be taken back to level 1 but with some bonuses. You’ll earn XP faster – a lot faster. The second generation pilots will double their XP intake. Expect experienced players to probably run about 10-15 hours of play time or longer to hit the first level cap before regenerating.
Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts also are aiming to keep things fresh with future DLC and updates. At this time we know that three expansion packs are due for TitanFall which will include maps and likely weapons and Titan addons. Each segment of DLC will run you $9.99 if you purchase them alone, $24.99 if you invest in the seasons pass. But don’t just expect the usual DLC content to come your way. Respawn are going to watch their forums and get all the feedback they can to see how the game is being played and what people want going forward. There will be free updates, according to Respawn, that will potentially add small and large game content to hone the playing experience and perhaps keep it from being put in a box. At launch the game only supports 792p resolution on the Xbox One. Respawn is not happy with that and have promised improvements in due time. As they continue to learn the hardware of the Xbox One it is said that the game will either tag a 900p resolution with FXAA (smoothing effects) or 1080p resolution without FXAA (no additional smoothing effects). The question is which will be smoother (consistently 60 FPS) as they get into the lifecycle of this now-released game. There is also talk of increasing player caps. The most extreme rumors tell of a 16v16 setup at some point. Take that with a grain of salt, however we do see perhaps a 7v7 or 8v8 very likely. Anything beyond 10v10 would probably be too chaotic for many of the maps, and it would only strain the GPU of all platforms it’s released on. We bring this up in the review simply because Respawn have been so transparent about it, thus it’s important to take these improvements and additions into account now since they’re confirmed in one way or another.
For the time being, TitanFall is excellent. It hits a lot of high notes and does nearly everything perfect from the beginning to end. If the story could be a little more intentional we wouldn’t complain, and some launch bugs do exist although they seem to be mostly server-side. Had Electronic Arts allowed this game to undergo another couple of months of development there could have been more in the mix. Much like Windows 7 and Windows 8 during their prerelease development cycles, there was a deadline and TitanFall had to be good to go by then. Respawn decided to do what the former Microsoft head of Windows Steve Sinofsky did – pull out what can’t be completed in time in favor of perfecting what must be available day-one. It would be more convenient for gamers to get the whole package right away and it seems to be a trend from EA lately, pushing titles that aren’t complete to launch (resulting in some pretty buggy titles for months after launch). But Respawn Entertainment is heavily invested in the success of TitanFall and have the expertise to make it grow in the future. Since it comes just under four months after the Xbox One’s launch, TitanFall is a must-buy for any shooter fans with online access. It really doesn’t stumble on what it delivers and offers the promise of a better tomorrow for gamers that are in it for the long-haul. To see such a great title come out and know that it’s only going to get better is very exciting.
If you’re anxiously awaiting Respawn Entertainment’s TitanFall as much as we are here at XOGS, then there’s not much to fill you in on the game itself. However, Respawn Entertainment has responded to some fan inquiries asking whether or not the company would launch an open beta test event for the game. Respawn responded by saying they’re open to the idea and may indeed offer up a short window of play time to get more stress tests and pre-release feedback. With the game set to launch on March 11, this plausible open beta would have to hit in the next couple of weeks for developers to fully assess real-time data and do the stress testing before finalizing the game and mass producing it.
What’s also interesting is a bit of news from the closed alpha test going on right now. Reports from potential leakers may show the game and how it’s running at the moment, however Respawn also made a note to those that could come across content on the web showing the game in its current state, stating that the in-game graphics and detail represent about 25% of what the final product will look like. If this is the same alpha build we saw at E3 2013, then this is extremely excellent news for Xbox One owners and interested buyers as TitanFall looked pretty good before, but would look incredible with significant graphical detail pushed beyond what we’ve seen thus far.
With the Xbox One off and running, now may be as good a time as any to take a look at what gamers owning the console have to look forward to. That’s not to say what was available on day one wasn’t good, but if you really are looking for a next generation experience then you may be feeling a little lackluster for the time being. The good news is that is all changing in 2014 because if it all comes together, the year is a shoe-in for best year in Xbox history. If you’re not all caught up yet, here’s a look at the exclusive titles you should have the opportunity to drool over soon enough.
TitanFall
Anyone that read any news in the past six months should have heard of this most-anticipated game of 2014. TitanFall is basically the always-online hybrid of Mech Assault and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. How so? Well, Respawn Entertainment is headed up by the two brainiacs that created the very first Modern Warfare title which stole a lot of Halo’s competitive FPS thunder back during its launch. TitanFall marries the pace of first person combat shooters as we know them with more of an MMO feel that includes both infantry combat plus mech combat. This game has already won tons of “best of show” awards from the likes of Gamescom, E3, Penny Arcade Expo – to name a few. This likely blockbuster is set to release on March 11, 2014. Make sure you have some sick or vacation time stored up. If it comes together as good as all these other critics are saying it is, social lives will end for at least a little while.
Below
This highly intriguing indie-developed title gained a lot of interest upon its unveiling at E3 2013. The game is about magic, swords, and perma-death. The game is slated for 2014 but has no official launch date that as of this moment. It won’t be the best looking title by a longshot, but its story telling and gameplay could be deeply addicting for those that crave something outside of the typical AAA experiences from franchises like Call of Duty or Tomb Raider. Keep your eyes and ears out for this one.
Fable Legends
This long-standing Xbox franchise is set to reinvent itself and make good on true cooperative play. Little is known for sure, but Lionhead Studios and the game’s first official gameplay trailer lead to the likelihood that multiplayer will have a much bigger role this time around. We don’t have any reason to expect an MMORPG, at least not yet, but Fable is a franchise that is deserves an incredible entry. To date, all the Fable games have been good, but always lack the longevity or lovability of comparative games such as Zelda. Could this be the breakout game that fans have hoped for? Without much to go on its hard to say, but we’re all rooting for this one to go nuclear and is expected to land by the end of 2014, though we still haven’t seen an official announcement for a release date or even a seasonal window to lean on.
Quantum Break
To boast that your game is a next-generation title, you must have more than just pretty graphics at higher resolutions to depend on. Quantum Break is garnering all kinds of interest and antsy-pants for Xbox owners. This game is being birthed from the likes of Remedy, the creators of the novel-based adventure Alan Wake. The idea of the game is very reminiscent of J.J. Abrams’ Fringe television series: events across the world begin to break out where time seems to freeze or fast-forward time (that is, as far as we can tell). What is truly unique here is the television series tie-in that you’ll be experiencing as you play the game. There’s still much to learn here, but in 2014 gamers will get their first bout with a game that tells part of its story through a TV show that directly related to the game you’ve been playing. That means choices and outcomes you make within the game will play out in the television series. Super cool!
Project Spark
Minecraft was wildly popular on Xbox 360 and remains one of the most-played online titles to date. Minecraft is coming to the Xbox One, but for those that were never drawn to the old school Nintendo Entertainment System graphics will be relieved to hear that Project Spark is on its way. It’s a world-builder game that makes it easy for players to craft worlds that can span a vast amount of unique experiences. You craft the world so you and your friends can play within them. Create a tower or hero defense game to ward off ogres attacking a small village. Design a sky-high platformer where failure is a 10,000 foot drop to death. Project Spark literally brings everything to life that you see on screen, if that what you wish. Coming sometime 2014 unless its release gets pushed back.
Sunset Overdrive
It’s silly and comically inspired. Imagine the insanity of that old South Park FPS mixed with Dead Rising’s zombie-apocalypse with over-the-top antics. We also see some parkour influences from the likes of Mirrors Edge and Assassin’s Creed make their way into the mix. If you’re game for a departure from the norm and can embrace the zaniness, Sunset Overdrive might be a must-buy come later 2014.
Halo 5
The first cinematic trailer was revealed well into Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference earlier this year and took gamers by surprise. At first we thought it was Destiny, but when Chief’s cloaked hood gets blown off in the trailer (see below) an incredible sense of amazement and giddiness overcame many of us. It’s clear that Master Chief is seeking some kind of resurrection to his AI companion, and sort-of love, Cortana. But how this is done and what the fate of mankind is this time around is hard to tell this early. We do know the Prometheans are back, a welcomed adversary that mixed things up nicely in Halo 4’s campaign. It’s expected out during the late fall/holiday season 2014. Halo carried Xbox early on and has sustained it when other exclusives went into hiatus or lost some of their appeal. What’s more interesting is that new series-owner 343 (a part of Microsoft Game Studios) promised a better game than Halo 4. Some of the cast commented that they could do better and would do better going forward. How that translates into Halo 5 isn’t totally clear. But get this – Tomb Raider Creative Director Tim Longo, largely responsible for the Tomb Raider series reboot, has joined 343 to help drive Halo 5 and perhaps future Halo titles. Who’s pumped!?
There are many Xbox One exclusives that are due out in 2014-2015 not listed here, but these are the confirmed ones that likely will see releases in 2014. Another article featuring the non-exclusives will likely find its way onto this site in the coming weeks so stay tuned if you want to know more about what is to come on Xbox One!
With a flurry of games sitting on the horizon, it’s important for titles that have already come to get what value they can into their mixes before your money faces heavier contention. Destiny, EVOLVE, Minecraft, Sunset Overdrive, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Forza Horizon 2, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Project Spark, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, The Crew, The Evil Within, Far Cry 4… we didn’t have to list every one of those games but we wanted to really drive home the message that there’s a wealth of gamer product coming our way. This leads us back to our original point: DLC.
Xbox One Game Source 